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Commissioning Bespoke Jewellery: A How to Guide

A Commission Story

So, very recently I had a summer open studio (see my last blog post) and I had a very sweet family come and visit, Mum, Dad and two little girls. While Mum was distracted with her two cuties, Dad quickly asks me about a commission.

Now, this isn't the most ideal situation, as we can only talk temporarily, but I give him my card and we discuss the basics. He wants a ceramic piece to be set in silver and made into a pendant with a long snake chain. Even though our time discussing this is short, I have the basics to go with and I know I can keep him informed with drawings and photo's along the way.

Over the next two weeks, we end up having a lot of back and forth. I send him diagrams of chain lengths, options of settings and different diameters of snake chains. He is quick to respond and tells me what he likes, but also asks my opinion, so we're both on the same page. Fantastic! 

We progress quickly and smoothly. Two weeks later, he comes to collect his commission and is very happy! I gift wrap the piece once he's seen it and he will give it as a surprise birthday gift, with two weeks to spare!

This turned out to be a great commission, even though it didn't start of with the "ideal" consultation, we were both clear with each other and decisive! Now, if only all commissions could go this smoothly? Well, they can and below is a little guide to make it so! 

 Commission Do's and Don'ts

So, you want to commission a piece of jewellery? Fantastic! I'm here to help you with some Do's and Don'ts. Let's make commissioning jewellery a streamlined and enjoyable experience, for both parties!

Do's

Do have an idea about what you want, before contacting the designer, even if it starts off as a rough idea. Some designers (like me) will offer you a free design consultation, but it's a good idea to have thought about:

Time scale and deadlines.

Your budget for the item.

Your measurements, for example your ring size? or, the length of a necklace.

Will you/the recipient wear it everyday, or will it be more of a "cocktail" piece?

The metal type and colour you want.

Do keep in touch with the designer and ask questions, lots of questions! Its way better to get them off your chest at the beginning. So, have a plan of what you're going to ask and write those questions down!

Do your research into other independent designers work, this way you know that you've chosen the right designer for you.

Do try to visit the designer personally, then you can be sized by them, have a good chat about your commission and even see their workspace.

Dont's

Don't leave it to the last minute! Even if the designer is available there and then to make your commission, they have to order supplies, allow time for postage (possible delays in postage) and may need to get your pieces hallmarked. 

Don't assume you will always get an instant price, most commissions take a little while to value.

Don't think the designer knows all the little details in your head, you have to spell it all out! Get your desired design details in writing, this may take you a while but it's totally worth it.

Don't have an unrealistic view about pricing, this comes down to research again, but if your getting a bespoke piece of jewellery made, this will usually be unique to you and unlike the mass produced products you see on the hight-street.

All in all, the best way to go ahead with a commission is when everyone is clear about what is wanted (be this with the aid of sketches, prototypes, or even mock ups made in a cheaper metal). It's great to be able to meet face to face, so your both reassured.  However, many successful commissions are made on-line everyday, just remember communication is key, so make sure you're on the same page!

So thanks for reading my guide, its a rough guide and every jeweller is different....but this should help you to approach a designer with your request.

Oh, that reminds me....one final don't. Don't be afraid to approach a designer! If we can do it, we will, if we can't....well, I personally always try to direct a commission onto someone else who can. I'm here to help you get your dream jewellery!

So please, get in touch via: rhiannon@rhiannonemma.com

or call: 07949493579

Cheers,

Rhiannon.

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Ernst Haeckel. Found in Malayan Travel Notes. 1901.

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Earrings and necklaces made by the British designer Rhiannon Higgins.

The collection is inspired by Ernst Haeckel’s monographs of radiolarians.

‘Radiolarians are microscopically small, with only some forms reaching a few millimeters in size. Although related to amoebas, radiolarians frequently possess a spherical or helmet-like skeleton, whose diversity of form fascinated the German zoologist Ernst Haeckel.’

Examples of his work can be found in the book ‘Art Forms from the Ocean’.

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So gorgeous

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Artist on tumblr - Julie Sarloutteis a French artist, graduate from the National School of Fine Arts in Paris, France. She focuses on embroidery, but she isn’t making clothes; using string, Sarloutte creates pieces so detailed that they appear to be composed of paint strokes instead of individual stitches. Sarloutte draws inspiration from technology and the media, as her work focuses on what the world news is covering. Omnipresent tragedies such as war, hostages, natural disasters and repression are most often the subjects of her embroideries. She also works with painting and mosaic, every method leading to what she believes is an unexpected contrast between the subject she is portraying and the material it is being made from via

Posted to Cross Connect by Margaret

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Tristam Lansdowne

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Horizontal Sections of the Adult Male Top-to-Bottom: Mid-section of skull, section at maxilla [hard palate between sections], section below mandible

Eugène-Louis Doyen was a revolutionary (if flamboyant and controversy-loving) Parisian surgeon who lived between 1859 and 1919.

Long before the Visible Human Project created its 1,871 “slices” of Joseph Paul Jernigan at 1 mm intervals, and created over 65 gigs of anatomical data (and later created 40 gigs of data with a female cadaver), Doyen presented a new way of visualizing the cadaver: longitudinal and horizontal sections, showing exactly how the human anatomy goes together in each area, without the context of seeing the full organs or bones.

Though the full usefulness of these unorthodox sections wasn’t truly appreciated until the advent of tomography in the early 1970s, they were noted to be helpful to early radiologists, and especially to the burgeoning fields of criminal forensics and forensic archaeology.

Atlas d’anatomie topographique. Eugène-Louis Doyen. 1911.

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Francesco Albano